Disclaimer: I do not, have never and have no hope to own the Power Rangers. They are owned by Saban (Please don't sue me Mr Saban). I also do not own Doctor Who, which belong to the BBC or any associated characters. Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling and although not used directly in this series is an excellent read and deserves a mention.
I do not own VR Troopers, Big Bad Beetleborgs, Masked Rider, Galaxy Rangers, Transformers or GI Joe. Some of the concepts and character in this story are based on these shows as do any characters that make an appearance. They are all used without permission of the copyright owners.
I also need to credit Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, Blake's Seven and Star Fleet/ X-Bomber for some of the ideas in this book and for general inspiration. References are made later in the series to Sailormoon, Digimon, Pokemon, Robotech, Zoids, Gundam Wing, Captain Planet, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future and Dragonball-Z and any character or idea taken from those series is done without permission.  If there is anything I've forgotten such as MASK, Terrahawks, Thunderbirds or Ghostbusters, they're not mine either.
I would like to thank Jeremy Ray Logsdon, Ellen Brand and Randel for writing their respective series. They were an inspiration to me two years ago when I started writing this series and remain so regardless of the numerous rewrites I have produced. The basis of the Morphin Grid in this series is modified from Randel's version of Ellen's definition of the Morphin Grid. The idea of the Infinity Crystals in later chapters was inspired by Jeremy Ray's Earth Crystals and Marvel Comic's Infinity Quest.  Any characters used have been taken with the permission of the author.
The mention of a series, book or television program in this disclaimer in no way guarantees characters, places or situations from those sources will appear in this series. Most are excellent programs that deserve a mention or that have had a positive influence on the direction of this series. No part of this series is used for profit.
Author's Note: This is a rewrite of the first part of Conquest of Evil first released at the Command Center Archives in 1998/99. This has been rewritten to allow for later seasons of Power Rangers including Wild Force.
Time Line: The series does not adhere to the Saban timeline. The year is 1996 and the series begins after Billy left for Aquitar, but before Jason started to lose the powers of the Gold Ranger.

Poor Replacements
by ShadowRanger

Minion made a final check to ensure everything was as it should be. A row of Robo Troopers formed a line with another line facing them. Each held a spear and awaited further instructions. A the end of each line stood Silvo and Brasso, also at attention; Bronzo stood next to Minion while Frink was nowhere to be seen. He sensed the arrival before he saw the behemoth appear. Serpenterra, personal transport to Lord Zedd carefully - as carefully as possible for a machine over five hundred meters long - landed on the lunar surface. The door opened and the familiar occupants emerged.

Lord Zedd was first his body positively glowing with evil energy. His staff reflected the light off its sharpened edges. He was similar to the arch villain who had arrived on the scene and removed Rita Repulsa from power. He nodded to Minion and turned his gaze towards Earth. The familiar beam of red light streaked from his facemask towards the planet's surface where he saw the Rangers talking desperately amongst themselves. His spirits were lifted when he noticed how Tommy seemed to be suffering.

Rita Repulsa moved to catch up with her husband. She could see the carnage Minion had caused and was pleased. For once her headache was nowhere in sight and she was truly glad to be evil. Minion could see the love she had for her husband, not true love but the soulless passion many villains experienced during their careers.

Goldar was next to emerge his wings fully extended and he sword proudly resting on his shoulder. On his left arm was Scorpina, smiling wickedly as she too held her sword at the ready. Both turned to glare at Rito as he tapped them on the shoulder, but smiled cruelly when he handed them a thick chain. His face was as unreadable as ever but he seemed more attentive to what was going on.

Finally came Squatt and Baboo complete with a complement of foot soldiers. As the dictators of Aquitar they felt they need the extra protection. Of course they had handed the day to day running of the world to subordinates while they returned to Rita and Zedd. They were dumb not stupid.

"Lord Zedd, it is good to see you," Minion acknowledged. "Lady Rita, a pleasure as always."

"We heard the Rangers had been defeated," Zedd said.

"And so you hurried back to assume command and establish control of this world," Minion stated. His voice was low but he was happy to see Zedd take a step back. "Do not push your luck here Zedd. I restored you from a existence of mediocrity." Then he returned to his reverent tone. "Please follow me, I have something I'm sure you will find interesting... I know Master Vile will."

~*~

"So you really are powerless?" David asked.

Tommy nodded. "Everything connected to the Zeo Crystal was destroyed when he crushed it." He thought for a moment and then added: "Except for our Zeonisers, they're intact."

"Can't you find an alternate energy source, another Zeo Crystal?"

Tommy shook his head. "Zordon managed to siphon the remnants of the Zeo Battle Helmets, the Zeo Jets and the Zeo Pistols into out Zeonisers. At best we have enough power to handle one morph and even then... Minion destroyed everything: the Zords, arsenal and vehicles. At best we'd be fighting at half strength."

"So what are you going to do?" David asked.

"Keep looking," Adam said. "We could go to Ninjor and ask for new Power Coins."

"I am afraid that is not possible," Zordon interrupted. "Because you were children when you lost your original Power Coins your bodies can no longer accept power from the Morphin Grid."

"Billy managed it," Tanya pointed out.

"Billy had returned to normal when Rito crushed the coins," Tommy told her.

Even though Tanya knew the history of the Power Rangers some of the smaller facts had never been clarified. For the most part she was able to fill in the gaps, but it did lead to some confusion.

"And since new powers are always created in groups, Tanya will cannot be connected to the Morphin Grid at this time."

"Could we become Morphin Warriors like Jason?" Kat asked.

"No," Zordon boomed. "Your links to the Morphin Grid have been severed. Must not use those powers again."

"Why not just repair the crystal?" David asked.

"That would take weeks," Alpha told him.

"But it is our only real chance," Tommy pointed out. "Good plan David."

"I know something that can help," Adam said quietly.

He moved to a console and pressed a series of buttons. The Rangers disappeared.

~*~

Deep within the mountain under the Power Chamber there were a series of caves. Zordon had never bothered to use them and for the most part the Rangers had ignored them. All except for one. Billy Cranston, former Blue Ranger of Earth had never missed an opportunity when it presented itself. And after he had discovered that the caves in question could hold all the scientific equipment he needed as well as a safe place to carry out those experiment he had jumped at the chance. During his days as mentor to the Zeo Rangers he had spent his time in the caves working on his latest creations, but never revealing what he was doing. Except to Adam. Billy had felt a strong bond with the Green Zeo Ranger and was willing to show him what he was working on. He had even told Adam the code to enter the area they had dubbed "Billy's Arsenal".

When Billy had left for Aquitar the caves had been closed off and nobody had tried to enter them until that moment. But now a lone figure made his way towards the cave, moving silently to avoid detection. Since Rito and Goldar had found their way into the old Command Center, Zordon had installed extra security. Not only had the signs marking the way to his citadel removed, he had installed audio and visual surveillance beneath the surface. As he moved along others joined him, one of who seemed unusually excited.

"So we're finally going to see what Billy was working on," Rocky commented as he jumped about like a kid in the back of a car.

"If he got them working," Adam replied.

With the Zeo Crystal shattered the Rangers had been forced to find alternate ways to defend the planet. Jason and Samoht had their powers of course and Rocky, Adam, Kat and Tommy had similar Morphin Warrior forms. But what use were half-powered forms when Minion had so easily dealt with fully powered Rangers? Zordon had calculated that at best the Rangers could managed one more morph with their Zeonisers. That had not gone well with Tommy who could easily recall his time as Green Ranger, wondering if his next morph would be his last.

They had tried to think of alternate methods of morphing, such as using the coins Billy had taken from the deceased Aquitian Rangers or perhaps even asking Ninjor for help. But Zordon had told them that although the coins had bonded with Billy there was no guarantee they would do likewise with the other Rangers; he also mentioned that Ninjor could not help them due to the way they had lost their powers originally. Nobody was quite sure what he meant and Zordon did not seem keen to elaborate although he was distracted when they left.

Adam inserted the keycard Billy had given him and watched as the door to reveal the secret Billy had been hiding. He heard the gasp from his fellow Rangers and had to grin; the room was filled with weapons that had been connected to the Power Chamber's generators.

"Aw man," Tommy said as he looked around. "I didn't realise we had such a large collection."

Tommy made his way over to the far corner where he discovered the first set of motorcycles Billy had attempted to build for the Dino Rangers and Thunder Rangers. Checking the power supply he found all five vehicles were in working order and capable of morphing into powerful weapons. They had obviously been one of Billy's projects during his time in the Power Chamber.

Rock and Adam Meanwhile had managed to find some of energy rifles. Each gun measured about ten inches and was grey in colour. Adam tested one of the guns and found it was self-aiming.

"Look at this," Rocky said, pointing to the small cartridges Billy had carefully labelled. "Fire, Freeze, Stun bolt, Exploding Shells, Laser and Gel. He didn't just make one gun, he made every type of rifle we'd ever need."

"Check this out," Adam said, pointing to the set of five devices Billy had placed next to them. "It says here these will act as a dampening field against Cogs. That might slow them down for a bit."

"Guys!" Tanya shouted from the other side of the room. "I think I've found the heavy artillery."

The other Rangers found Tanya standing in a smaller vault marked 'DANGER'. On her right arm she had attached a gattling gun. A metal casing surrounded her shoulder continuing as a metal sleeve down her arm. The cannon was mounted on the end and activated by a small trigger. The armour changed colour to blend in with her uniform.

"This is great," Jason said. "If we need to fight at least we have weapons."

"But we need some protection," Kat pointed out.

~*~

"It's beautiful!" Rita proclaimed.

"I thought you would like it," Minion replied.

He was pleased to see Rita and Zedd were making themselves at home.

"Master," Frink interrupted. Minion glanced down at the servant now licking his boots and nodded for him to proceed. "You ordered me to tell you it's time."

"Of course," Minion said. "I think it is time to keep those Rangers on their toes. We'll send down a few of our forces to entertain them while we deal with our own problem. Now, where is Finster?"

~*~

"Guys, we need to hurry!" Tanya exclaimed.

She was looking into one of the miniature Viewing Globes they had constructed. On the screen it was obvious that even though Minion had not pressed his advantage, others had been swift to move in. Angel Grove was swarming with Putties, Tengas and Cogs. That was so typical of a villain who had just beaten the Rangers: to sit back and gloat while others pulled the rug out from under their feet.

What Kat didn't know was that Minion was not relaxing or gloating. He had orchestrated the attack to draw the Rangers back out. He knew that Zordon would not let them teleport to fight Robo Troopers, but lesser foot soldiers they stood a chance of surviving. It was an amusing ploy and one that even if unsuccessful would wear the Rangers down while he worked on other projects.

"Hey, what are those?" Rocky asked.

The Rangers walked over to where he was standing next to a set of costumes. They resembled the uniform of the Morphin Rangers, but instead of fabric they were made of metal and had a coin in the chest.

"Billy's attempt to integrate the Metallic Armour into the Zeo powers," Adam told him. "He never got them to work though and changed them into a monument to his days as a Ranger."

"Do they work?" Tommy asked.

Adam pushed a series of buttons and the suit flopped to the floor. He picked the red one up and threw it to Tommy.

"Just put it on and close the helmet," he said. "They're running off the Power Chamber."

The Rangers did as he suggested and soon there were five armoured Rangers in place of the civilians. With some difficulty Adam managed to link some of the weapons to their armour. They wouldn't be as powerful as they had been before, but it was a good start. They mounted their motorcycles and explained what they had found to Zordon. Their mentor was less that anxious to send them into battle, but finally admitted they needed to do something. The Rangers had not been seen since their defeat days before and the forces of evil were starting to believe that Earth was defenceless. In a flash of colour they were teleported to Angel Grove.

~*~

"Okay Rangers, divide and conquer," Tommy ordered.

After teleporting to a spot just outside of Angel Grove Park the Rangers had activated their armour and bikes. Thanks to Billy's design the bikes had adapted for their new users. The vehicles, which the teens had simply named Attack cycles were now, colour coded for each Ranger. The Green, Blue, Pink and Yellow Attack Cycles were all based on a motorbike and sidecar design. The Red Attack Cycle resembled a cross between the Shark Cycles and Zeo Cycles.

"Power them up," Tommy instructed. Flicking the power controls on his bike he crossed his fingers and hoped the portable power cells they had found would last for a while.

"Tommy, they're spreading out," Tanya warned.

Tommy checked his scanners and saw that whilst the Tengas had remained in the park, the Putties were heading towards the Youth Centre and the Cogs were spreading out through the rest of the city.

"I'll take care of the birds," Kat said. Before anyone could argue she had already started to drive off.

"Okay, Rocky and Tanya take the Cogs, Adam and I will deal with the Putties and then catch you up."

"Right," the other Rangers called as the set off on their mission to protect Angel Grove. Tommy activated his weapon systems before taking off after Adam.

~*~

Kat angled her Attack Cycle and rammed into the flock of Tengas. As expected most of them flew clear of the bike, but a few tried to slow her down and were torn to shreds by the powerful wheels. Turning the bike to make a second pass, Kat realised that she would not be able to make contact with the Tengas since they had remained in the air.

Drawing her hand blaster, Kat loaded a Fire Pack, took aim and fired. With the nearest Tenga acting as the target, the blaster adjusted its power level to ensure that as the beam hit the bird it exploded into flames. The odour of burnt feathers filled the air as the Tenga struggle to remain airborne, setting fire to its neighbours as well.

"Get her!" the leader called.

As the Tengas swooped towards her Kat changed the blaster's power pack to Ice. Instead of aiming directly for the birds, she fired at the ground in front of her. As the Tengas landed they found themselves frozen in place. Kat fired another shot to freeze the birds solid and then threw a stone at the ice statues. The statues cracked and crumbled into tiny pieces of ice.

"Oh great," Kat said to herself as more Tengas appeared.

~*~

Using their increased speed Tommy and Adam made it to the Youth Centre before the army of Putties. As they waited Tommy called for Ernie to evacuate everybody from the front of the Youth Centre. Ernie did not need to be told twice and soon there were no civilians in the area.

As the Putties drew nearer Adam activated his bike's special features. The connecting bars between the bike and sidecar extended outwards, pushing the sidecar away from the bike. Adam shifted position to sit upright as the sidecar was raised off the ground, the bottom opening and remoulding to extend the sides. Eventually the sidecar was positioned over the bike and rider.

Luckily for Adam the whole conversion process was balanced to ensure the bike did not tip over. When he was certain the sidecar was in the correct position he pressed the button on his handlebars. The shell of the sidecar dropped onto the bike, locking itself into position. The wheel that had been used to support the sidecar dropped next to the bike's own wheel. With a series of clicks the wheels were joined by an axle and moved outwards to provide extra support for the increased weight.

Finally a set of laser cannons emerged from the machines sides. At the front a triple barrelled rocket launcher appeared. A protective screen covered the newly formed cockpit.

"Let's see them deal with this," Adam said.

"Not bad," Tommy said, taking a moment to admire Billy's handiwork. "Watch this," he told Adam as he activated his own weapons.

Channelling the power of the Morphin Grid, Tommy's bike started its own transformation. The wheels duplicated themselves and extended away from the bike. The headlight transformed into a single cannon. Tommy felt his legs being drawn back behind him as steel panels formed around them. The front windscreen extended to protect Tommy from any forward attack. The started to spin at speeds impossible to an ordinary bike.

With the front wheels spinning forward and the rear wheel spinning in reverse the bike started to lift off the ground. When it was floating six inches off the ground Tommy flicked a switch and the wheels dropped from vertical to horizontal positions. Miniature thrusters mounted under each of the wheels activated to keep the bike hovering. Finally a set of heavy weapons attached themselves to the bike and a pair of thrusters appeared on the back of the bike.

"Here they come," Adam called.

"Let's get them," Tommy responded.

Together the two Rangers charged the Putties. While Adam drove into the Putties, Tommy used his thrusters to knock the Putties over. Within a few minutes they had managed to get all the Putties into a state where they could no longer stand upright.

"Particle Stream, fire!" Tommy called.

A thick beam of light erupted from the nose cannon. Flicking several buttons Tommy fired his side cannons as well. The Putties in front of him were soon reduced to dust.

"Triple Shock!" Adam cried.

The three-barrelled rocket launcher fired, dispersing its shells over a wide area. The Putties decided they had had enough and ran away. Adam turned to see Tommy beating the remaining Putties on foot. He was using a hollow red staff Adam assumed he had found in Billy's vault.

"Siek-yah!" Tommy shouted as he decapitated the last Putty and remounted his bike. "We'd better find the others."

~*~

"They're spreading out," Tanya said as she studied the Cogs on her radar. "Rocky, we need to keep them inside their current grid or we won't be able to take them."

"Why don't you take the perimeter and I'll pick them off from inside?" Rocky suggested knowing Tanya had the faster bike.

"Okay, but be careful," Tanya warned. "We don't have our powers to protect us anymore."

"Hey, it's me," Rocky replied with a grin.

"Exactly," Tanya muttered. Out loud she called, "Weapons, now!"

The bike and sidecar separated, the sidecar splitting into parts. The bike's stand lowered to stabilise Tanya as the bike morphed. The rear wheel of the bike detached while at the same time joining with parts of the sidecar to form a rotor blade. The sidecar wheel transformed into a smaller rotor and attached itself to the rear of the bike by means of an extended axle. The larger rotor attached itself to the front of the sidecar. The front, back and sides of sidecar then formed over the bike while the base of the sidecar split in half and formed two skies. When the transformation was finished Tanya was sitting in a miniature helicopter.

Next a cannon attached itself to each ski and a smaller rifle appeared on the end of each handlebar. The gattling cannon Tanya had found earlier attached itself to her shoulder ready for action. Activating the rotors she raced off to prevent the Cogs from spreading out.

Rocky didn't bother to activate his weapons. Instead he headed towards the point from which the Cogs were spreading out. As he went he stopped every so often to place a small device. If his plan worked and Billy had been right he hoped to be able to shut down the Cogs without too much fighting. The idea of being without his powers was scary, but Rocky had vowed to defend his planet and that was an oath he took seriously.

~*~

"Weapons mode, Now!" Rocky called as he finally caught up with the Cogs.

At his command the bike and sidecar separated. Time seemed to move slowly as Rocky was thrown into the air, his arms and legs spread. The bike and sidecar broke into smaller parts, the three wheels forming a base and locking onto his feet. The armour from the vehicle attached itself to Rocky's body encasing him in a solid shell. A double-barrelled cannon formed on his chest, a pair of rocket launchers attached to each shoulder and a pulse rifle formed on each arm.

Rocky tried his new mode out and discovered it was surprisingly versatile. Apart from his feet he was able to move without restriction from his armour.

With a thought Rocky activated the devices he had placed. The Cogs froze as the devices transmitted a shutdown command. With the Cogs disable Rocky chose his targets and fired. Soon a pile of scrap metal surrounded him.

A small flashing light indicated more Cogs moving in from behind. Turning to face the new threat Rocky released a barrage of blasts from his pulse rifles.

"Fire One!" he ordered.

The rocket launcher on his right shoulder locked onto the centre of the Cogs. The rocket struck its target, throwing the inoperative Cogs to the ground.

"Time to help Tanya," Rocky said to himself as his wheels carried him towards his fellow Ranger.

~*~

"Don't you guys know when to quit?" Kat asked as she blasted another Tenga.

Kat was fighting a losing battle and she knew it. Every time she beat off one Tenga several more appeared. She pulled the trigger again and sighed as she realised the power pack was empty once again.

"Shit!" she swore, smashing the now useless weapon into the nearest Tenga. Without her powers she knew she could not fight unarmed for too long. "Weapons mode, now!"

Kat felt herself teleported into her sidecar. A glass screen closed over her forming a cockpit. As the screens inside came to life Kat saw the twin cannons emerge from under her sidecar and at the same time small wings spread on either side.

"Launch!" she ordered.

"The rocket like craft was launched into the air, allowing Kat to match speed with the Tengas. One by one she targeted the Tengas and one by one the Tengas were reduced to a pile of feathers.

~*~

"We did it!" Rocky said excitedly as the Rangers regrouped in the park.

"Yeah," Tommy said. "Good job guys."

After mopping up the remaining foot soldiers the Rangers had ensured the city was safe before heading back to the source of the disturbance.

"You know if this was Rita and Zedd or Mondo, he would be sending a monster about now," Rocky said.

No sooner had he spoken then Silvo and Brasso appeared in front of them. "You had to say it didn't you," Tommy muttered.

This is going to be fun. Brasso said as he turned his attention to the nearest Ranger. He charged at Tanya, grabbing her helicopter by the skies, preventing her from getting away. While he held the vehicle, Silvo struck it with his fist. Between them they tore the vehicle apart.

"Get away from her!" Rocky shouted. He unleashed the whole power of his weapons, causing Silvo to release Tanya.

Silvo responded by charging at rocky, lifting him above his head and power slamming him to the ground. From nowhere a silver sword appeared in his hands and he started to try to slice and dice the former Zeo Ranger. He was stopped when Kat slammed her vehicle into his legs.

Brasso meanwhile had managed to cripple Adam by breaking off his front wheel. Tommy tried to use his thrusters to force Brasso to move, but only succeeded in making the henchman mad. Twisting around Brasso threw Tommy to the ground. His bike lost power as Brasso drove his foot into the side.

"Regroup," Tommy called.

The Rangers abandoned their weapon systems and gathered together a short distance away. Tanya handed her blaster to Kat as the gattling cannon once again appeared on her arm.

"Fire!" Tommy ordered.

The weapons were powerful, but had been designed to work with powered Rangers; not humans dressed to look like Rangers. As a result the only effect the blasters had on Silvo and Brasso was to make them laugh.

"You want fire?" Silvo asked. "Try this."

Lasers shot from Brasso's eyes, hitting the ground where the Rangers were standing. He watched with satisfaction as the Rangers were thrown into the air.

Tommy landed hard, rolling to minimise the impact. His first instinct was to get back to his feet, but instead he took a moment to find out where he was in relation to the others. Rocky and Adam were lying next to each other barely moving. Kat and Tanya were some distance away, neither attracting the henchmen's' attention.

"Now we finish this," Tommy heard Silvo say. He looked up in time to see the edge of Silvo's sword pointed at his neck.

"Enough!" Minion boomed. "Silvo, return at once!"

He had proven to the Rangers that substitution would not be easy. Now they would have to start from scratch again

"See you soon Rangers," Minion crooned. "This will be fun."

~*~

"Why did you call them off? We were winning!" Rita screeched.

"And we would have continued to win until Zordon found someone capable of helping the Rangers. Then we would have been back to square one. This way the Ranger know that any attempt to replace their powers will end in failure and that they have to come to us." He shifted his attention to where Finster had been secured to the wall. A cruel smile distorted his mask as he decided to start the next phase of his plan. "Tell me Zedd, how much do you really know about the Zeo Crystal?"

End